A Past Revealed
by Airhead259
Summary: Why are you so protective of me? It's not like I'm disabled or anything!" When Toph was a little girl, she found out about something that would change her life. How would she cope?
1. Chapter 1

**I've had a major urge to write some ATLA fics lately, and some friends gave me this idea. It was originally meant to be a oneshot, but I decided to make it into a short story, just for fun **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in this story.**

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Toph had always noticed as a child, that something was different about her

When she was young, she remembered hearing her parents' voices but never actually seeing them in person. She always woke up to darkness, even though it was broad daylight outside. People seemed to treat her like she was a fragile butterfly.

Toph never knew what was really wrong with her. Why did everyone treat her so differently? Sure, she belonged to a high society class, but even her parents took special care of her. The biggest mystery to her, though, was why she only saw darkness. She had never seen her own face, let alone anyone else's. What was wrong with her?

Then, on her 6thbirthday, her parents decided to tell her the truth.

_"Toph honey, come here. There's something we'd like to talk to you about." _

_Toph followed her mother's voice into the sitting room, where her parents were. She plopped down onto a soft cushion that was conveniently located on the floor right in front of her._

_"We have something we want to talk to you about dear. See, when you were born, we realized something important about you. Something that would change your life forever." her father started._

_Her mother continued. "Have you ever felt like you are surrounded by darkness? Have you wondered why we are all so careful in how we treat you?"_

_Toph was shocked. It was as though they could read her mind. Instead of showing it, though, she replied. "Yeah, why?"_

_"We want to ensure your safety, Toph. We want you to grow up in a safe environment."_

_"But why, dad?" she cried, "Why are you so protective of me? I can take care of myself! It's not like I'm disabled or anything!"_

_"Actually, you are." her mother said sadly," You are blind, my child."_

_Toph fell silent. She was blind? Is that why she couldn't see her parents? Why hadn't anyone told her before? There was something she was forgetting though…_

_"Wait," she said, "if I'm blind, how do I always know where you guys are?"_

_"You are gifted with an acute sense of hearing. That is probably why you know where to find people. And everyone __does__ step out of your way when you are walking, so you do not bump into them."_

_"But if I'm blind, how will I learn earthbending? It's a part of me, like you'd told me when I was 4. I have to learn, don't I?"_

_"We have thought about that, and, after much deliberation, have enrolled you in Master Yu's earthbending academy. He will teach you basic moves, so that you can learn, but stay safe at the same time. This way you will always be able to defend yourself." said her father._

_She began to say something, but before she could, her mother interjected by saying, "Now, go on, enjoy your party. Lessons start tomorrow morning." _

_Toph left the room and suddenly realized that she would be 'looking' at life from a completely different perspective from now on._

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**Comments are appreciated! Please tell me what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

1 year later…

**Here we go, Chapter 2! Enjoy.**

**I don't own ATLA.**

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**1 year later…**

Things hadn't changed much for Toph in one year. People still treated her with the utmost respect and stayed out of her way, which she found quite annoying. Master Yu had kept her on basic forms, and although she had mastered them all, he insisted that advanced techniques were much too 'dangerous' for her and prevented her from progressing. She knew, however, that she was as good as most other students at the class, maybe even better. Yet, she decided to keep this to herself.

Toph had never encountered any danger in her 7 years, but that was about to change very soon.

One sunny afternoon, Toph found that she was very bored. She wanted excitement. And so, she snuck away from the guards assigned to protect her and ran to the East side of her estate gardens. There, she created a small tunnel with her earthbending and 'burrowed' her way under the wall. Once she was on the other side, she began to casually walk towards the town of Gaoling. 'Maybe,' she thought, 'I'll find something interesting there.'

No one seemed to notice her or recognize her as she walked through the streets. This was probably due to the fact that her parents had told the public that they had no children (in order to protect her, no doubt). Either that or the people were much too busy to notice a 7 year old blind girl walking past.

Somehow managing to maneuver her way out of the crowd, Toph turned into an alley, and immediately sensed that it was a mistake. It was a dead end. She turned around to go back, but a gang of older children had noticed her. They advanced towards her.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" she heard a girl sneer. "A little brat eh? And look, she's blind!"

Another voice piped up. "She seems new around here. How 'bout we tell her what happens to little kids who step onto OUR turf."

Toph was nervous. She took cautious steps backward until she was backed up against the wall. "Don't come any closer," she warned, "I'm an earthbender. I can hurt you."

"What can you do?" a boy snickered, "You can't see."

She felt their vibrations. There were around 5 of them. She was outnumbered. She got into a fighting stance, as she had been taught. Some of the others did the same.

One boy took a step forward, preparing to attack. Then she saw it – a weak spot. She stomped her foot, creating a small earthquake which knocked the boy off his feet. As he stumbled, she shot a small rock at him, sending him flying backwards. He crashed into a wall and collapsed, unconscious.

Three of the remaining gang, upon seeing this, took tentative steps back. They realized she was not to be messed with. The gang leader, however, was not intimidated. She charged forward. Toph was ready. She bended a rock platform and raised herself above the others and out of their reach. Then she created an earth wave which picked up the bullies and dumped them not-so-gently some distance away. They were out cold

Toph lowered herself and, after ensuring that there was no more danger, walked out of the alley. Then, she noticed a man standing a short distance away, his mouth wide open. She looked at him and asked. "What?'

He snapped out of his trance and said, "Sorry. Um, did you do that on your own?" he asked, pointing towards the bullies.

"Yeah, about that, they were going to beat me up. I didn't have much of a choice…"

"Wait," the man interrupted. "You must be a great earthbender. You should take part in the Earth Rumble tournament. It was introduced this year by a man named Xin Fu."

"An earthbending tournament, huh? Sounds nice. Where is it?" she asked.

He told her where it was located. Apparently it was in an enclosed stadium, a short distance from the city to prevent civilians from being injured by any stray boulders.

Toph walked up to the signup counter where a woman was seated. She was looking at some papers. After a while, she looked up and noticed the little girl standing in front of her.

"Hi," said Toph," I'm here to take part in the tournament."

"You?" the woman exclaimed, "But you're just a child! You might get hurt."

"I'm an earthbender. I can protect myself." She replied simply.

The woman sighed in defeat. "Alright, you can sign up. But first, you'll need a stage name. What's it going to be?"

Toph thought for a moment and smiled.

"The Blind Bandit."

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**Hope you liked it! R&R if you did :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Finally, the last chapter! Enjoy.**

**I don't own Avatar.**

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Toph entered the tournament hall and stopped abruptly. It was huge! She could not see it, but from the vibrations she felt, she could tell what it looked like. An elevated stage stood in the centre. There was a large tower that loomed up above the stage, where the host would be. There were seats all around the hall which rose upwards like steps, so that everyone could see the action. Every seat was occupied. The hall was packed with people shouting and screaming, ready to support their favourite benders.

"The blind bandit," said a voice from her left. It was another woman who had a clipboard in her hands.

"That's me."

"Follow me please. Your first opponent will be The Miner. Are you ready?" asked the woman.

"As I'll ever be." she replied smoothly.

A man walked onto the stage. He seemed quite intimidating. He began to announce in a deep voice.

"Welcome to the first ever Earth Rumble tournament! I am your host, Xin Fu! We have many powerful benders here, ready to take on the competition! I hope you're prepared to see some awesome earthbending! Are you ready to RUMBLE?!"

The crowd cheered as he earthbended himself onto the tower Toph had felt earlier. After the noise subsided, he began again. "Our first match will be between The Miner and a newcomer – The Blind Bandit!"

Toph walked onto the stage. She couldn't feel the Miner's vibrations anywhere. Then, suddenly, the ground started to shake and he popped up from underground, landing perfectly on his feet.

"Prepare to eat my dust, child!" he said in a raspy voice.

"Before we begin, I'd like to announce the rules of this tournament." began Xin Fu. "Anything goes, as long as there is earthbending involved. The first person to be knocked off the stage wins! Fighters, prepare!"

Toph got into her stance and so did the Miner. He had a smirk on his face, though she couldn't see it.

"FIGHT!"

The Miner immediately went underground. Toph tried to feel his vibrations. He was moving towards her, hoping to catch her by surprise. Unfortunately for him, she had an advantage – she could sense where he was. Just as he was about to pop up again, she moved out of the way and raised herself up onto a tall platform. As he emerged, she forced the pillar back into the ground. The force drove him backwards and he was shot off the stage.

"We have a winner – the BLIND BANDIT!" shouted Xin Fu. The crowd's cheering became louder. Toph punched the air with her fist as a sign of victory.

The remaining matches went the same as the first. Toph beat each opponent with ease. When it came down to facing the champion, it took her a little longer than usual. Eventually she caught him off guard and knocked him off the platform by flinging a large boulder at him.

The crowd cheered as Toph casually dusted herself off. Xin Fu jumped off his tower to hand her the prize.

"I present to you our new champion, The Blind Bandit!"

He handed her a belt which she raised above her head and showed off to the throng. After she fastened it around her waist, he handed her the prize money. A group of fans began chanting 'Bandit, bandit' and soon everyone joined in.

Toph finally realized that she didn't need to be able to see in order to fight.

Every year, Toph came back as the champion. No one was ever able to beat her. She was the strongest earthbender there.

She kept her life as a fighter a secret from her parents and anyone else close to her. She knew they would never understand. Whenever she could, she would sneak off and practice her earthbending far away, where no one would ever see her.

Toph had found her calling at last. She believed herself to be unbeatable.

Then she met Aang.

_The End_

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**Yeah, I know the ending was really lame. I would write more, but you already know what happens next. This story was loads of fun to write, I hope you enjoyed it!**


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